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Friday, March 8, 2013

Rayah SmithGrade 3Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures - The US Capital Commotion;I loved the book Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures - The US Capital Commotion. Flat Stanley travels to Washington, D.C. and finds out that he won a medal. He wonders why he won itand was a little embarrassed seeing as he hadn't done anything but hold onto a flag...pretending to BE the American Flag!! Flat Stanley gets to meet the president of the USA. I think it would be cool to meet Obama Barrack!!

Rayah Smith Grade 3 Agent Amelia, by Michael Broad. Today I read a book called Agent Amelia. Agent Amelia is about a girl who is very smart and has saved her city from robbery. On one of Amelia 's trips she keeps her teacher from stealing a very special necklace and catches 2 robbers from stealing money from the bank. I like detective books and would love to read more from this series!

Colton PennerGr 5Matilda Bone, Karen Cushman Matilda Bone is a historical fiction novel written by Karen Cushman in 2000 and published by Yearling Books. The setting is a medieval town and the story begins with a girl, who was raised by priest in a manor home as she is dropped off at Blood and Bone alley to be an apprentice to Red Peg, the bone setter. Without much adventure, Matilda Bone is an enjoyable book for all ages as she learns about life and friendship in her new home. Matilda Bone has long golden hair, ice blue eyes and a sincere personality. Her main struggle is to fit in with her redheaded mistress, Peg and to understand town life but she scorns her daily life because of her ignorance and false teachings by Father Leufredus. The people of the town love and help her to adapt to town life and show her the importance of people, relationships and God’s love. Near the end of the novel, crisis suddenly strikes as Tildy, her best friend, is smacked off a stone wall by a piece of pork and fractures her skull. Dashing to get Dr. Theobald, who is the rich town physician, she stops dead in her tracks and thinks, “Should I seek help from master Theobald, who consults the stars for advice and does not care about his patients’ lives or the loving Dr. Margery, who treats all of her patients with tender love and care?” Walter Mudd, a minor character, shows Matilda great love as he chooses to stay with his old blind master, Nathaniel, rather than moving to another town to start his own apothecary, which would have earned him fortune. The theme of Matilda Bone is to love one’s neighbour as yourself and in order to do this; one must truly know and care about the people around you. Matilda Bone is an intriguing story, though without much action, which shows the importance of learning to love and accept others. The variety of characters Matilda meets makes the story highly interesting. Readers will learn about life in the Middle Ages, from the foods they bought at the market, to how they treated illness and the types of jobs they lived. In order to be a great friend one must love your neighbour as yourself, just as Matilda Bone learned to love the people in her life, who became her family.

Theo Schmidt Gr 3 Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater Mr. Popper's Penguins is an awesome, action packed book with tons of silly scenes. My favorite part is when two of the penguins get into a play fight in the basment of the Popper's house. All the other penguins gathered around, and there were lots of flippers flapping! I recommend this book to strong readers age 8+, and as a read aloud to children age 5+.

Victor Penner Gr 7 Taren Wanderer Lloyd Alexander Taran, once a poor pig-herder, has fought beside the greatest princes and warlords in Prydain. Taran has traveled far on his many quests: seeing strange and magical wonders only fantasies to most, challenging wicked enchanters and ruthless warriors and falling in love with the beautiful princess Eilonwy. He has grown in courage and wisdom, he has suffered and sacrificed, made choices that will haunt him and buried friends who died for him. He has lost much though he has learned much too, that which his loyal friends and unbearable choices have taught him, but despite his many adventures he has not learned what he seeks the most. Who are his parents? In hopes that he could unearth the secrets so long buried, Taran forsakes his home for the life of a wanderer. Throughout his travels Taran is challenged to the very core by revelations about himself, everything he has ever known is stripped away. He learns great sadness, discovering wisdom through his faults, but in the end achieves his goal, in a way he would never have dreamed. Unlike the preceding books, instead of a clash of battle hosts, Taran faces evil in many disguises, such as the deathless wizard Morda and the deceitful warrior Dorath, as well as the storm that rages in Taran`s own heart. The insight and wisdom that fill every chapter staggers the reader and the detailed description will illustrate a vivid tapestry in his head. Taran and the land of Prydain will bond with anyone who picks up the book and change their mindset of fantasy.

Karina Brown Gr 5 Challenge on the Hill of Fire Marianne Hering and Nancy Isanders.
The Imagination Station Challenge on the Hill of Fire
Authors: Marianne Hering and Nancy I. Sanders
ISBN: 978-1-58997-694-8

This Adventures in Odyssey book is all about the characters Patrick and Beth who jump on the Imaginations station in search of adventure and Shamrocks and leprechauns.
However they don't find a pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow and they don't even find a rainbow.
What they actually find is nothing like the fairy tales tell you about! Fifth century Ireland was a very scary place filled with people who try and hurt Patrick and Beth, causing them to flee!
Imagination station is fabulous historical fiction that is recommended for ages 7 and up.
It has questions and answers about St. Patrick and a secret word puzzle on the back. This book is an exciting story that keeps you interested, you could imagine the entire story as if it were really happening.
My favorite thing about this book was that you were learning and you get caught up in a great adventure.
Adventures in odyssey is a great series altogether. I would highly recommend them to anyone who wants a remarkable narrative packed with adventure and real facts.

Diquita Cardinal; Gr 8 'Unashamed' by Francine Rivers.

'Unashamed' is part of a Series of Novels by Francine Rivers. She takes women from the Bible and tells their story and adds how she thinks life would be for them. All the women in her novels are from the line of Jesus of Nazareth. The author takes what we are told in the Bible and ads historical information to help shape a story that is really fun to read. Unashamed is about Rahab the prostitute. Rahab lives in the city of Jericho and she hears about the God who does miracles for his people the Jews. She turns away from the idols of her people and through many events becomes a believer in God. It is a love story too. Two jewish spies come into Jericho to scope out their battle options. She saves them from being discovered. When the walls of Jericho fell, Simon takes her to join their nation. I was amazed at Rahab's faith in God even though she did not know very much about him. It reminds us of God's forgiveness towards us, and how he is active in our lives when we turn our hearts to Him. It think other teens and women would enjoy this story because it brings a bible story to life.

Aiden Watson; Gr2Valentine's Day Disaster by Geronimo StiltonThis is a great book. I liked it because there is some comedy and adventure in it. My favourite part was when Geronimo touched a valentine decoration and got electrocuted in mid air......don't worry, he was ok!

Caileigh Watson Gr 1. Elliot's Emergency by Andrea Beck.
In Elliot's Emergency, his leg gets hurt. All his friends try to help, even his best friend Socks. I really liked this book because all of his friends help him. His friends names are Amy, Socks, Lionel and Paisley Bear. The pictures are wonderful and detailed. This is a great book and you'll have to read it to find out what happens.

Caileigh Watson Gr 1 Thea Stilton and the secret city by Geronimo Stilton.
I liked this book because in this book people named Nicky, Colette, Violet, Paulina and Pamela find a secret city. Thea is a good strong character because she is a good friend and she's brave, smart, thoughtful and kind. My favourite part of the story was when the characters slid down a slide.Aiden Watson Gr 2. Geronimo's Valentine by Geronimo Stilton.
I like this book because there were some funny parts, like when Geronimo was in a cheesecake eating contest and he nearly threw up because he ate so much. I like Geronimo because he is funny, a big fraidy cat and kind. Everything always works out in the end. I would recommend this book because there is plenty of comedy and sometimes there are adventures.Jacob Pohl Gr 6 . Island Book One: Shipwreck This book is about 6 troubled youth who have been put on a boat for a six week program that will turn them hopefully into good kids. In the book there are rough seas and the ship starts to sink. The kids have to learn teamwork to keep the boat from sinking. The ship blows-up and the kids are stuck in the water. I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't normally like to read because every page has action on it. It is a fictional adventure book. The book flows nicely and doesn't go back and forth on the characters. All the characters are different and they have to work out their differences to survive. This book is not a Christian book but it does not focus on violence or have any bad language. I think that Christians would enjoy this book.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Thank you God and my awesome Book club students for a great session today! I loved hearing from all of you, with the questions posted re Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe; the wonderful collaboration, on outdoor survival and the sharing of book reviews and Prezi by Zion, Ayrelea and Denise. They are posted here. I think we were all wowed by what a great literary and techie group we have! Thanks also to Jenessa for joining our group and blessing us with her encouragement. We missed our few members who could not make the session.

Zion and Aryelea won for their techie presentation on Prezi. Tyler won for best contribution on his outdoor list sharing and reasoning for duct tape! Denise won for best review this month, please send me your word doc Denise? Everyone who contributed in the discussion raised important points, and brought some encouraging comments to the fore. Now some of the names I have shared may have already received a prize. If that is the case please let me know? Also if you have not received a prize after being told you were going to get one, please let me know.

You might be interested in finding out the list of survival ideas your students brought to the emergency list. Here are the essentials:

1. Bible
2. Fire lighter of some kind
3. Tarp for cover
4. Family or friends.
5. First aid kit and antibiotics
6. Food of some kind
7. Twine or duct tape.
8. Hatchet and knife and stone for sharpening.
9. Weapons
10. Pot for cooking and collecting water.

We have one more session left in book club and that is for our author read and discussion. I am collaborating with author Eric Walters, to see if he will be available to join us for a live webinar. If this pans out we will need to read one of his books. Soooo with that in mind I am going to let you decide which one of his books to read. Here is a list of his potential goodies!

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About Me

I am a teacher librarian with HCS, and work from home. God has blessed me with a ministry that I love doing; serving a community of campus students, home schoolers, in a vibrant learning commons. Mother of 3 kids, and married to John I am presently homeschooling my baby of the family, Matthew who is 16 years old. I love literacy and all things techie, and hope to be a life long learner!